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Just when you think you have seen everything, something happens to really make you wake up and pay attention. Now before I get accused of not knowing my facts let me be clear about a couple of things: (A) I don’t work for low rates on freelancing sites and (B) I’ve never been “invited” to take part in one of these assignments. However, that does not change the facts that they are out there. I always have pointed out to freelancers that they are working mostly at odds with clients. After all, a freelancers primary goal is to make...

Generally I enjoy Squidoo but I’ve noticed some disturbing things that have caused me to pull back my submissions to the site. In fact, I have removed all of my lenses from the site. Earlier this year I had pursued putting a lot of my work up there as a way of highlighting topics that I felt were well done, provided solid information, etc. However, I quickly discovered I was really wasting time with no hope of recovering much at all from the time I invested. In January, I had only three lenses left in my “reserve” area because...

As most of you know if I am going to use a freelance site, I do prefer oDesk. While it does take some time to get your first assignment, over time, oDesk in my opinion is the best. This does not stop me from looking at other sites to see what they are offering. And for the record, Elance has an excellent reputation; I do not use them because I do not like their “buy credits” system as I believe that if I am going to land a freelance assignment I shouldn’t be paying for service until AFTER I...

We need to be honest with ourselves when we are self-employed and make sure that we are making the most of the hours that we invest in our business. There are some tasks that simply do not provide a good return on our investment of time and in some cases, they will never provide a good return for the time that we invest. In order to make the amount of money that you need to make, you need to make sure that you are managing your time well and investing the hours that you have well. First set income...

Back in August of 2011, I wrote a highly critical post about oDesk when they changed their “terminology” to refer to those who were posting jobs on the site seeking freelancers. Originally, the accepted term was “buyers” and supposedly after “much research” they changed the terminology to “employers”. My post was not specifically aimed at oDesk but in general tried to spell out the “proper freelancing terminology” that I suspect most freelancers adhere to. Shortly after this “change” I stopped using oDesk because I felt that this was casting freelancers in the wrong light, after all, we are not...

Well, this will be my last Examiner blog post since I won’t be writing at Examiner anymore (remember yesterday’s post?) So I got this email yesterday from Examiner that said: “We wanted to send you a quick reminder that you haven’t published an article yet in March and you can earn double for any articles published this month! You still have time to publish multiple articles and increase your earnings potential. If you haven’t already heard, we’ve just announced the new Examiner Experience. Get ready for some awesome new tools and insights to help you succeed! Why wait? Publish...

Make Pennies and Disclose EVERYTHING – NOT

I complain about website users who fail to read the terms of service of websites where they elect to write. I have been a member (and in some cases still a member) of sites where the changing terms of service are very challenging. However, when a website posts their Terms of Service and their Privacy Policy and it remains the same for two years and they VIOLATE them then Houston, we have a problem. One of the websites that I contribute to is Examiner. I don’t contribute much as my “beat” is Boston Philanthropy. I have not been a...

Bloggers, freelancers and anyone else who owns a small business often have to wrestle with doing the right thing. In fact, it is often difficult to determine where “helping” others and offering guidance and assistance begins interfering with our paying work. Many small business owners are very particular about how they spend their time and how much of their time the “give for free”. However, not all of us are. Many small business owners are happy to provide information freely to anyone it will help. In particular, freelance writers often “band” together and share information with others. Some of...

One of the challenges with having a blog is coming up with content on a daily basis. Part of the problem may be the type of blog that you are maintaining. After all, unless you are writing “news” stories, you might find yourself at a loss for words! So just how do you keep yourself focused on the overall goal of your blog which is to inform your readers? Check out the news Even if you are writing evergreen content, reading the news can help you come up with new material. Pick a set of keywords and plug them...

I recently found a site called Media Piston where they encourage writers to sign up and earn money for submitting articles. This site is similar in some ways to Textbroker and offers writers “one of” assignments at a fairly low rate of pay. However, there is no minimum amount of writing that you can do and you are paid on a weekly basis for assignments that are accepted by editors and by the client. My experience on Media Piston I only signed up on Media Piston recently. The process was relatively painless, you sign up with your email address...

Words matter! Not only what you say, but how you say it has an impact on how people perceive you. I’m not just talking about what you write, how you write it or where you publish your work. What I’m talking about is your own personal brand that you NEED to have if you are going to succeed as a freelancer. I admit to not always being a reasonable person, in fact, I have been known a time or two (note: massive understatement) for responding first and thinking later. Ya, that’s me . But opinions are like (well, you...

I think I must be getting more ornery in my old age – and I don’t really consider myself old. However, there is something that really does annoy me online when people are joining BUSINESS networks. Notice I said business….I mean sites like LinkedIn, oDesk, etc. Those that require you to put up a profile that people are going to review for potential hiring reasons. Your mother isn’t going to hire you Stop putting your high school (or college) photograph in your profile. It does NOT help your credibility. Chances are pretty high that your mom isn’t going to...

While some people bash those who write for sites like Demand Media, Crowd Cloud and Textbroker as being “unprofessional”, I’d like to defend those who elect to use these sites to earn money. After all, this IS about earning money and not always about the level of professionalism that is displayed by the writer. There are many excellent writers who depend on these sites to earn their weekly and monthly income. The fact is that not everyone can write for the Wall Street Journal or other “high profile” publications. Like it or not – immediate payments Textbroker, Media Piston...

How much time does it take to write an online article?

When you are a freelance writer, time is money. Each article that you write means potential earnings. Every freelance writer has a different method of writing. You can write six to eight articles about one topic and have them done in two hours or you can write one very involved article that takes two hours. There are several factors involved in determining how long it takes to write an online article. Writing online requires that you write in a short and concise format. In fact, it is highly recommended that online articles not exceed about 800 words. There are...

Are you suffering from overload? This can occur when you have too many social media sites to follow, when your workload seems impossible to manage or when you simply have too much on your mind. It’s not that uncommon among writers who are working long hours that involve not only writing but promoting their work and searching for their next assignment. This feeling can be overwhelming and if you find yourself feeling that you’re overloaded, chances are that you will not get as much done as you normally would. You have to be able to organize your work to...

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Featured

Cheap business owners

Writing Site Review Update: Squidoo

Freelance site to steer clear of

Smart Money: Time Management Tricks

Sensible changes by oDesk

Writing Site Updates: Examiner

Make Pennies and Disclose EVERYTHING – NOT

Creating Content for Blogs

Writing Site Reviews: Media Piston

Brand Building: Your online presence and words

Brand building: Your online presence with pictures

Defending content writers

How much time does it take to write an online article?

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